Related Links: Report: Bucs will pass on QB Marino Ranking the top free agents Key dates in free agency 2000 NFL opponents 2000 NFL calendar Forum: Does McDaniel have three years left?
	T O P   N E W S

Teams and league officials, here for the weekend's predraft combine workouts, told SportsLine the Bucs have reached a contract agreement with perennial Pro Bowl guard Randall McDaniel, released by the Minnesota Vikings on the eve of free agency to help the club get under the league's $62.172 million spending limit.

McDaniel, 35, has agreed to a three-year contract worth $6 million, and will be penciled in as the Bucs' starting left guard. The agreement will be officially announced next week, when Tampa Bay officials return from the combine.

The 12-year veteran should feel immediately comfortable, since lining up directly to his right will be another former Minnesota star, center Jeff Christy, signed by Tampa Bay last week as an unrestricted free agent.

One of the most celebrated offensive linemen of this era, McDaniel has played in the Pro Bowl a record 11 straight times. While most observers agree his performance slipped the last two years, he remains a solid player and one whose experience and leadership should benefit a Bucs team that has definite Super Bowl aspirations in 2000.

On Friday night, Bucs coach Tony Dungy referred to McDaniel as "one of the all-time great guards in league history and an even better person." His signing is in keeping with the Bucs' goal of bringing in veterans of high character in an attempt to make a Super Bowl run. The game will be played next January on the franchise's home field, Raymond James Stadium. No team has ever played a Super Bowl in its home stadium.

McDaniel joined the Vikings as a first-round pick in the 1988 draft and immediately gained a starting job. In 12 years, he played in 190 games, all starts, and after missing two games in '89 because of an injury, has played every contest since.